Your Wagon's History

'89 Volvo 740 Wagon - "The Breadbox"
We are somewhere between the third and fifth owners. I found the original owner's business card in the owners manual. She was a real estate agent in Jacksonville, Florida, which explains why the interior has so much sun damage. There are also dealer service stamps in the owners manual from 1989 -1996, so I can trace where the car went. From Florida, it moved to Virginia; and then from there to Pennsylvania. The dealer servicing stopped in '96, so I'm assuming the car was sold to someone else then. The time between 1996 and 2001, when it showed up at a used Volvo dealer in Frederick, Maryland is a mystery. We bought it then with 168,000 miles on it and have had it ever since. It had been fairly well neglected when we bought it and it took two years or so to make everything work right again. It was my wife's car from when we bought it till 2004, when she needed a minivan that would take 2 carseats and a booster. I started driving it in 2006, when my son started school and getting him in and out of a 2 door Tercel proved to be a problem in the carpool lane. I quickly found out I loved the car, except for the automatic transmission, so when the torque converter gave out a year later, I converted it to a 5-speed, making it a very rare (for America) stick shift 740. Since then, it's not only been my daily driver, but my hobby as well. It's gotten sport springs and 23 mm sway bars, which tightened up the suspension nicely, the alloy wheels from the 740 Turbo, and some upgrades like the glass sunroof from the later 960, which replaced the steel sunroof the car came with. I also replaced most of the sunbleached carpet and cracked plastic with an interior that came from a junked, garage kept '88 760 GLE. The combination of a leaking rear main and an oil light that I didn't realize had stopped working forced an engine replacement in 2012, with 361,000 miles on the clock. I got a Turbo block from a '94 940 Turbo, which also has oil squirters and thicker rods, and all the rest of the stuff to do a full Turbo conversion. Time and money have kept all that sitting in 2 tubs in my basement. Hopefully, both will free up in 2015 and I can pull it off the road and do that project. As of today, it's still going strong with 408,000 miles on it, and we've been using it for the past two summers to pull our 12' pop-up trailer. We just bought an '07 XC90 to handle the trailer duties and give my wife a newer car than her '98 V70, but I'm hoping to break half a million miles in about 5 years.

 

Last summer, I bought my '76 Montego Villager from the 2nd owner out of the San Francisco area, with about 150k miles on it. He had bought it from the original owner, his neighbor, in the early '90s. Unfortunately, the 2nd owner was not big on keeping records, so I didn't get much documentation with it. From what I understand the original owner used it to tow their camper, hence the hard to find factory 460 with added on tow package. Still mostly original, except the wheels and tires.

 

On the 16th of next month, Ma celebrates 25 years of happy ownership with Arthur, the 90 Volvo 240. She bought him as her 60th birthday present to herself, and they are still going strong together. Here's hoping for many, many more happy years for both of them.

 

Good luck to your Mother and her friend Arthur. that is great.

My wife wonders how did a Volvo station wagon end up with a name like Arthur? Perhaps there is a story there Ma never told you.

I can only remember namng one car of mine, Pinky, the 1949 Ford, for obvious reasons. Actually i called it other things. But can't mention those here!

 

What I know about my '92 Roady is it was bought new in Pennsylvania and sold at a Estate sale a couple years later to a family that was moving to Alabama. They kept it maintained with records until 2010 when they gave it to their nephew in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He put 4,000 miles on it in 4 years and then decided to sell it. I have receipts for over $3,000 in maintenance they did in 2010. New front end, transmission service, differential service, coolant flush. Car was well maintained and was never winter driven during its 4 years in Pennsylvania. I bought it in March of 2014 with 74,000 miles for $1,750 and have only put 8,000 miles in the 9 months I have owned it. I enjoy it and plan on keeping it for years to come!

 

That would be ME, Dan!

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Unfortunately, I do not have ANY prior records on the Way Back Machine, which is really a shame. The story I got from the seller in Onalaska, Wisconsin, is that he bought it from an old guy local to the area who drove it very little, took it to an occasional car show, but not much else. So although it looks like it only has 29,000 miles on it, I can't absolutely prove it. All the Carfax records show is the registration renewal each year, with no info on any repairs or 'incidents'.

 

64

I will put you in line.

 

1968 galaxie wagon, originally purchased by Rev. C. Denton O'Dell in Sumner, Miss.. He traded in a 64 long roof for it. The good rev held a phd. and was a Presbyterian minister in Oxford, Miss. I have pretty much every receipt for the car from 68-2000... I mean down to buying wiper blades. Also while redoing interior and floors I found evidence car drove upto Boston back in the day Griswold style.

Around 2000 or so the Rev. moved to the Carolina's to be closer to his kids and grand kids. At this point I believe car was sold...according to an obituary I found online, the Rev. passed away from cancer in 2012....think I found his wife and she is a school superintendent in the Carolina's. I find it a little strange that she's a school super. I am also a teacher ( engineering and industrial arts:bananamaybe Khama that I found this car

2000-2012 trail goes cold, however somewhere along the way the car lost its sea foam green and 390, in favor for flat black, satin roof and a 428. Car has participation stickers in window from cruising the coast and the turkey drags at Byhalia drag way, as well as drag feast.

Car comes north to New York about 2012, kid trades Harley for it....he didn't have much info from previous owner...Harley kid had not a clue what he had...

After saving $$ and scouring craigslist for a family cruiser....I found it in spring of 2014. I trade some green backs to Harley kid, and the Longos have a new family truckster to add to the fleet....

I am really hoping someone can fill in those missing years..
Thanks for listening me ramble on.....

 

Ma's previous Volvo wagon, an 81, was named Guenevere. Never did figure out quite why. Guenevere became my brother's car at that point. He named the new one Arthur, and I promptly told Ma I wanted pick of the first litter. Worse luck, they never bred! I am still waiting to have my own wagon, all these years later.

 

Mine's about to become history, if it doesen't pass its emissions test. I got a too high soot at high speeds verdict on mine. The tester said that I've been babying it and should take it out on the Autobahn pedal to the metal to blow it all out. I think it's stupid for them to take that part of the test seriously, when it's obvious that if the injectors got sloppy, poor results would show up elsewhere. I'll post images of the verdict tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this Harley cafe´racer

 

Here are the results. They should be at 1, instead of over 4. This Wednesday, I'm going out to get a couple ramps and then see about pulling the exhaust filter first, before possible removing the entire system

how to use print screen

 

My '67 and '73 aren't particularly interesting. I've pieced together things based on forensic analysis and second-hand stories I heard from people. I've only ever bought one car from the original owner - a super rusty '72 Grandville that I still feel bad about telling the guy I was going to restore it only to find it WAY too rusty to do so.



The '67 was a car that my buddy in San Diego found at a trailer park down near the border. Apparently the toothless hillbilly that had it was pulling the motor "to make my Lemans FAST!" despite it only running on 6 cylinders. The guy kept the 400-2bbl and I put a 350-2bbl in it. It had 12" worth of drywall dust and a super worn out rear suspension from hauling all of that sheetrock around. Best I can tell is it was some contractor's drywall hauler until the '90s. It was probably the least optioned car I've ever had (it had AC, a deluxe steering wheel, and nothing else).



I talked to the older gentleman I bought my '73 from and he apparently bought it from the daughter of the original owner. The guy had 3 daughters who used to ride in the back seat, which is why there are holes and marks in the carpet from their shoes on the center hump. The car spent its entire life in the Hunstville, AL area as the guy apparently worked at the Redstone Arsenal (DoD access stickers still on the car) and was his daughter's high school car (Grissom High, Hunstville, AL, class of 1983 sticker still on car). Judging by the wear and tear on the car and lack of love, it's probably well over 200k miles when I bought it (the engine was rebuilt at over 120k miles in 1981 and the suspension was the most worn out I've ever seen on a '71-76 glide-away). It had sat in storage for 10 years or so until the lady decided it was time to go and the guy she initially was going to sell it to wanted to derby it. His buddy ended up being a GTO\Judge concours restoration shop owner who recognized that the car deserved better and convinced him to sell it to him, and after a few years of half-hearted attempts to sell it ended up selling it to me. It had a LOT of problems stemming from someone who didn't know what they were doing, which is probably why the kids ended up storing the car as it was a complete bear to drive and ran awful. It must have had a LOT of sentimental value for them to have kept the car as long as they did.



My '74 was a different story. I had *zero* contact with the guy I bought it from as his ex-wife handled the sale as part of their divorce and the previous owner was dead. I did find a stack of receipts dating back to the very first day the car was sold:



4 tires, $91. Mounted and balanced for free!





This car had 9 miles on it when the older gentleman bought it. It was a brand new first of the model year 1974 Catalina 455-4bbl with AC, gauges, and tilt wheel and nothing else. It was built in the 2nd week of September in 1973 for the 1974 model year and wasn't bought until September 27, 1974. So it sat for over a year on the dealer's lot before someone bought it. The one thing it does NOT say is how much they bought it for, I'd imagine dealer offered a pretty hefty discount to unload it as it was a "new" 1974 model being sold 2 weeks after the 1975 models had come out. It was regularly maintained and had apparently zero warranty repairs done to it, and as a matter of fact other than a water pump it had the entire "born with" engine compartment. The tranny had been redone (poorly) sometime in the '80s and it had also been repainted then (also poorly, which contributed to its window and quarter rot). The guy who bought it was 63 years old in 1974 and died sometime in 1996 (his name disappears from the registration and his wife becomes the sole owner, plus the name was unique enough to find a news article of his obituary). His wife died in 2005, after which the car sat doing even less nothing than it had since the 1980s. This car also had some interesting mileage backers: it showed 81k miles when I bought it. In 1983 the receipt for shocks (Sears Roebuck & Company specials for $25! Still on the car when I got it) showed 54k miles. In 1988 the receipt for a battery showed 63k miles. A smog certificate from 2002 shows 72k miles. So that would indicate that the car has never flipped its odometer over. Not that it means much, but it is interesting to see history documented so well. I ended up parting the car out after an ill-fated "restoration" shop destroyed it, and I have the engine in my '73 wagon and the tranny is going in my '68 wagon.

 

Best I have been able to piece together on the 85 Colony Park is as follows:
Original owner - bought the car from Lincoln/Mercury dealer in Red bank, NJ

6/3/1985 Independent Source VEHICLE MANUFACTURED AND SHIPPED TO DEALER

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6/30/1985 NEPTUNE, NJ Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
Original owner had the car for 24 years, drove an average of 1775 miles a year - then sold to a dealer in 2009 - Below

6/15/2009 FORKED RIVER, NJ 42,601 miles Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #:MK200916600000245)
Dealer in Warren takes possession

9/7/2013 FORKED RIVER, NJ 54,782 miles Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
dealers ad stated "The car was garaged before I acquired it and stored in my warehouse during my ownership. The car required a new starter and solenoid. which were replaced". Dealer drive the car average of 3650 miles in the 4 years he had it. When he put the car on EBay I drove up to Warren, NJ to see it lost the bid and he then sold the car to a guy named Joe, in Illinois.

2/17/2015 OAKWOOD, IL Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #:150486957350) EXCLUDED/EXEMPT
Ad claims the following was done to the car Recent full tune up- Wires, lugs, nd throttle position sensor. New belts. New speakers. Recent battery.
Joe put the car on EBay - in August of 2015 - 6 bids highest $4100 reserve not met. I missed this! then the car reappeared below

8/16/2016 FLORISSANT, MO Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #:TGN09675 ) EXCLUDED/EXEMPT
Car ends up 210 miles away at Bommarito VW in Hazelwood / Florissant MO they Listed on Autotrader for $2950. and this is where I picked it up again, called the dealer was going to buy it over the phone but hesitated for a couple of days and the car was gone. crap

12/13/2016 GRANITE CITY, IL Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #:163486942080) EXCLUDED/EXEMP TTITLE
car ends up being bought by a preacher who's wife was not happy (he told me) so the car is back on EBay and I have the winning bid, TA DA!
The preacher put the Blue Tooth Kenwood deck in but save the original am/fm cassette radio.

1/3/2017 HARRISONBURG, VA 55,962 miles Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
I take possession of the car - in the 4 years since I had 1st seen the car it had only been driven 1180 miles ,
I am the 6th owner, and the rest you know.

my 85 next to cycling buddies Jag and Porsche, last June

 

God, that's gorgeous! All the Box Panthers, until I met my friend Steven and his '87 Grand Marq sedan, were just dirty crackerboxes, never taken care of.

 

That Lincoln looks like it would make mincemeat out of that Jaguar.
My Audi was originally a company car for McKinsey & Company who's business is to consult other companies and corporations on how to rationalize which often means reducing the size of their workforce. They're not loved that much by trade unions. The only good thing I could say about them is that they drive their employees as hard as they advise other companies to do so, with the exception that their own employees are paid well. So anyway, the employee of whom this car was assigned to desired having it for his own. Therefore, buying it. Most of the miles were driven during the beginning years of his ownership. After a while, he decided he needed something more sporty. So, he buys an Audi TT and then kept the wagon for his wife to haul the kids and shopping around. I suppose, he might have thought that a wagon didn't fit his image of being a successful business consultant. As soon as the wagon was literally put to pasture, it was driven accordingly, until the wife decided that they were dumping too much money into it for it to just be parked most of the time, since they live in Berlin where public transportation is much more convenient than to try getting through to reach one end from another through congestive traffic. The straw broke the camel's back, when the windshield wiper motor got replaced for 900€. We'll never know if it was simply a fuse burning out because the wiper blades were frozen onto the windshield or not. To think that everybody's honest and correct over here is a myth. 50 years ago, it was different. So, because she and my common law wife were good friends (I could stand neither her nor her husband) she made a deal offering to give her the car if she would bail it out of the shop. I gave my okay. But, that was her entertainment. I didn't want anything to do with the car, since we had the Ford Mondeo wagon, at the time, and after having seen the service record, this car appeared to be a lemon. Sometime after she brought it home, my apartment neighbor, who contracted me to do minor body work on his Skoda, ended up in the hospital where he eventually died there, thanks to his stubborness against giving up smoking. I used to chauffeur him around in it, to go to the doctor, go shopping or pick up money at the bank and was impressed by the Volkswagon engine in it. When it came time to give it up, he wanted me to take it to the junkyard. I then asked him if he was nuts and I offered to buy it off of him. He refused to take money for it and told me I could have it. Comparing its service record to the Audi wagon's reinforced my prejudice against the Audi. But, it was time to get rid of the Ford, because it was driven in Winter and was showing signs of it. Since we didn't have a garage, there was no point of owning something of which we would have to take to a shop to do what I could otherwise do myself. So, we simply gave away the Mondeo wagon to her other friend for her 19 year old son to drive his band around to gigs and I kept the Skoda. Sooner or later, she decided that the Audi was costing too much overhead for the amount of use and then asked me if I would take it over for bailing it out of the shop because of some bodged repair she paid twice for. I agreed, since I didn't have the Skoda anymore and I needed the wagon to move my stuff. I haven't had any major trouble with it, except for the electric gadgetry and now the rediculous emissions thing. If I could legally rewire it and simplify it to a simple diesel car without the catylitic converter and electronic engine management, I'd keep it, since I drove out of the inspection booth with flying colors on the mechanicals and it does get real good milage, for a heavy car. Now, it looks like either I'd have to remove the entire exhaust, to dump all the soot out of it, because I drive thrifty or I'd have to buy a completely new system, for mounting it just before taking the car to emission's inspection. They levy quite a high tax on Diesel-powered vehicles, to compensate for the less expensive fuel. That's what makes my wagon particularly rare, since most of them of that year have at least double the milage, given that owners who put enough milage on them, to beat the high taxes with fuel savings, are the ones who find Diesels feasable to own. Who's next?